


New Life

by IngridAnne24



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 17:44:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6817696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IngridAnne24/pseuds/IngridAnne24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Becoming a mother was the last thing Magda wanted in life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Life

**Author's Note:**

> Magda's awful, but I find her interesting, especially her relationship with Petra.
> 
> I hope we find out more about Petra's family. Until then, I wrote this.

Magda had not planned on having children. She did not care for children. And in this time, children were more trouble than they were worth. At the age of thirty, she thought would be able to accomplish this.

Until she met a handsome man named Vilem. He was strong, but also kind, which Magda didn't usually care for, but it worked for Vilem. He was also quite charming. His smile somehow made Magda feel giddy, and Magda would often feel the need to smile back at him. It was strange.

He was also a secretive man. He was involved in some things and had to leave suddenly a lot. One day, he left for about a year. Shortly after he left, Magda had discovered she was pregnant and for a full month, she hated Vilem. She considered aborting this child, both as punishment for Vilem's leaving and the mere fact she had no interest in raising a child. Then, she got an anonymous letter in the mail. It was Vilem; Magda recognized his need handwriting immediately. The letter said that he knew about the pregnancy, and that he would return and give Magda and their child a better life. He promised.

How Vilem knew about the pregnancy, Magda didn't know, but she didn't question it and decided to stick it out. Shortly after that, she wished she hadn't. She felt sick all the time, her back ached, and she was tired. She cursed this child, who, to help her get through this, she decided it was a male. Every night, she imagined a strong, young man, working the field of the farm she hoped to own, no financial worries. He had Vilem's charming smile, but Magda's strong will.

They had no proper pre-natal care in the village, so she had to settle for the village nurse. She couldn't tell Magda more about the pregnancy, just that it seemed to be progressing well and she looked quite large. Magda had glared at her, then asked, “Do you think it is a boy?”

“It is possible. If it is, it is a large boy. A strong boy. At least, you can only hope.”

Magda knew what she meant. Having a girl was much more trouble, mainly because they could not do as much work in the fields as the boys, and it was usually better to marry them off. Perhaps this was outdated thinking, but even in the mid-1980's, this was an outdated place.

Magda continued to receive letters from Vilem, mainly promises that he would return soon, hoping to be there before the birth. If not, he had plans for his family. Things would be better, he promised. Magda did not really believe him, but, deep, deep down, she had a twinge of hope in her chest.

The first time she felt her unborn child, it was startling. Far stronger than she expected. There was a sharp kick in her chest and she gasped. She put her hand to her large belly and tapped her knuckle against it.

“You need to stop, my son.” But she felt secret pride for her strong son.

She began to think of names. Perhaps Vilem the Second, or Petr, or Bedrich, after her father. She liked Bedrich. It was a strong name.

Magda had lost track of how far along she was in the pregnancy, but based on the season changes, she was about eight months. It was now winter, a very poor time to give birth. Other animals knew to give birth in the spring, but humans never learn their lessons.

Magda's son decided a blizzard was the best time to enter the world, when Magda went into labor in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm. Two village women managed to come over to assist. When the labor pains grew in intensity, she began to curse Vilem's name. He did this to her, and he wasn't even here to be cursed.

“I hope he dies,” she growls. “I hope he is mauled by a bear, so he can feel my pain!”

The two women didn't try to calm Magda down. Instead, they agreed with her.

Finally, after a few hours, and as the sky was tinged with light, Magda began to push. She screamed and dug her fingers into the bed as hard as she could. This son better be worth it, she said to herself. He better be worth all this pain. Then, the intense pain stopped, replaced by a dull ache.

“It is a girl,” one of the women said sadly. She held up a squalling infant, covered in fluids. It was a rather ugly thing, but Magda didn't have much time before pain began to set in again. 

“There is another. I see the head,” the other woman said.

Magda pushed briefly, before the second baby was out.

“Another girl,” the woman said, shaking her head. “My apologies, Magda.”

After both Magda and the babies were cleaned up, she got a look at them. The firstborn was larger and louder, while the other one was scrawny and quiet.

“This one,” she said, pointing at the first born, “she takes what she wants, even in the womb. She is strong.”

“She is still a girl. What can she do?” One woman said.

Magda shook her head. “I don't know. But something.” 

Magda didn't care for children, even less for infants. They were helpless and messy, contributed nothing. But, as she gazed at the larger girl, the loud one, she felt a twinge of something. Pride? Both babies weren't very pretty; scrawny, large eyes, and completely bald. But the larger one did show some potential to be a pretty young woman.

Perhaps it wasn't a maternal instinct, but as she looked at the smaller twin, who had her arms and legs curled up against her scrawny body, she felt concern. This girl will struggle, but she will struggle even more with Magda. Magda didn't have the resources for one baby, let alone two. Two girls at that. Magda felt more of an attachment for the firstborn, but this one? She didn't feel anything.

“Is it wrong to feel nothing for your child?” She asked aloud.

One of the women, who was cleaning the sheets, shrugged. “Loving your children in this time serves no point. We're all struggling, we all have our own problems.”

It wasn't much of an answer, but Magda felt like she understood. It didn't make her feel better, regardless. She then supposed it was what it was. She couldn't make herself feel something for the baby, and really, it was cruel to keep the child around if Magda couldn't love her.

“She needs to go to somewhere else,” Magda said, motioning to the smaller baby. “An orphanage. I cannot care for her.”

The woman washing the sheets looked at Magda and nodded. “I understand. After the storm, I will ask my husband to bring the child to an orphanage a couple towns over.”

Magda looked down at the firstborn. She had stopped crying and had fallen asleep. Her sister, however, was still was still quiet but wide awake. She was staring, at nothing in particular, really, but staring intently.

“I will name her Anezka,” Magda said. “Your husband can tell the orphanage they are welcome to change the name, but I like it.”

“What about the one you are keeping?”

Magda looked at the other baby. “I do not know yet.”

After the storm passed shortly after that, the woman's husband came and picked up Anezka. She was wrapped in multiple cloths, and had finally gone to sleep. Magda's only physical contact with her was two fingers on her forehead.

“I wish you well, Anezka.”

And then they were gone, leaving Magda with her other daughter, who seemed to be waking up. Magda decided she should pick her up. When she did, the baby was stiff and she whined. Magda sat down in a chair, the baby curled up in her arms. The baby then opened her mouth, making a strange movement with her lips. She was hungry, Magda realized.

“I suppose this is what you want,” Magda mumbled, exposing her breast. The baby didn't have any difficulty finding it and suckled fervently. “Not so rough, child.”

When the baby was finished, she looked at Magda with unfocused eyes. Or she was looking in Magda's direction. Magda still didn't feel any overwhelming feelings for the child, but she felt pretty comfortable with the baby on her lap. Until she started crying.

“You are too young to be so angry at the world,” Magda sighed. “You should wait a couple more years.”

Suddenly, a name occurred to her. “Natalia. I knew a Polish woman named Natalia. She was a strong woman, before she was killed.”

The baby—Natalia—stopped crying and whimpered instead. 

“You shit on me, Natalia, and I am putting you down,” Magda warned her daughter. If she didn't know the baby had no idea what she was saying, she would think the child was obedient. That was her one true hope. “Making a man think you are obedient is a true skill, Natalia. Make him think you are obedient, but be strong, in secret. Men are easy to trick. Remember that.”

She felt silly talking to Natalia, who was staring blankly at her. But there would be a day this dumb little creature on her lap would understand her, so she probably should start teaching her daughter the important lessons.

Something suddenly upset Natalia because she started wailing. Magda's solution to comforting her daughter was run a thumb over her small arm and shush her. “Get used to disappointment, Natalia. Life is full of it.”


End file.
